The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-05-18

Uow People Exist in Ono Of ths
Coolest Countries in the World.

| VINO mas Travelled IN northwest olDcrla
There is seldom more than one room
in these cabins. and usually the owners
cattle, if he has any, occupy one enc
of the room in which he lives, being
tied or prevented from trampling OIL
the babies by bar. The houses are
commonly very comfortable, but are
awfully dirty, and smell-tkere is nc
word to describe it. Often. until go
used to it, l would rather lay down in
| the snow outside, with the thermome.
ter 80 degrees below zero, than SLEEP
in one of the huts. But you've no ide,
what q man can stand when he has
to-"
Have they windows in theii
housesp"
Eyes, ice windows. They use ice a:
we use glass. A clear piece is select
ed about five or six inches thick, NOR.
tised in the window-openng in blocks
two feet and sometimes as large as foui
feet square, and with water is made
solid. The water is as good rs putty
When the window becomes dirty they
scrape il off with knife, and when il
has been scraped thin they substitute
new pane"
Doesn't the window ever meltp"
"Bless you, no; it is freezing cold thai
far from the fire. If the room ever got
warm enough to melt the ice the Yakut
couldn't live in it, and would have ia
go out doors TO cool Off AT night the
fire is allowed to go out, as they have
to economist in fuel. All they have is
driftwood, gathered on the banks OF
the Lena river in the summer time"
'How do they sleepP Do they un.
dress when they 60 to bed9"
always. They strip to their shirts
which are made of thick sort of Rus
sian clcth, as heavy as our canvas The
men and women wear the same kind OF
garments, and never have more thar
one at a time. l took up lot of thick
flannel for them, enough TO last the
rest of their lives, and it will be great
deal more comfortable than the native
suit, although they don't like it at first.
When they undress they get into hunks
built in the side of the house, sometimes
q man. his wife, and all his children in
the same bunk. They have reindeer
skins under and over them. and cur
tains of the same hanging before the
hunks"
''Do they ever batheP"
"Never in their lives. They haven't
any word for bathing in their language,
and the impossibility of keeping clean
is one of the greatest hardships of Arc
tic life."
"What do they eat?"
Reindeer meat, beef, they have
cows, queer looking animals about hall
as large as ours, with a hummock on
their backs like camel, fish, bread
made of black rye flour, tea, and an inn
ported food made of chopped beef roll
ed into balls about the size OF marble
and covered with dough. These they
pound up and make into soup. There
is wood that is very nutritious when
it is groun' up and boiled. Mixed with
reindeer meat it makes n good soup.
They often eat their fish raw. OF
course they freeze solid rs soon as they
are taken out of the water, and the ma
tive, particularly if he is on the road,
cuts them off in shavings as thin as our
Clipped beef. and eats them raw. They
are palatable. and have lived for DAYS
ut n time on them, with cup of coffee.
made over an alcohol-lamp, by way of
variety, The greatest luxury they have
is butter and they will eat it by the
pound as our people eat confectionery.
A poor sort OF butter is made from the
milk of native COW, that looks and
tastes more like cheese, and they prize
it above all other classes of food,
"The amount of butter native will
eat when he can get it." continued
Lieut., Scheutze. ''is astonishing A
friend of mine in Siberia told me of n
man who ate thirty-six pounds in one
day, and then didn't get all he wanted.
They have way of pounding up red
berry and mixing it with butter, which
gives it beautiful pink tint and inn
proves the flavor. Their drink is the
Russian vodka, almost pure alcohol,
and they will trade their shirts for it.
The liquor is scarce but expensive, sc